Arizmendi Pizzería Donostia — Restaurant in San Sebastián

Yearning for a pizza (preferably pepperoni or diabolo), we hiked across the river and the rail lines to Arizmendi. I guess we may not have read all the comments, but discovered the menu consisted of one pizza, and it was vegetarian (sweet potato, onion and mozzarella). Turns out their concept is just vegetarian pizzas, only one different type per day, but they cater to carnivores with empanadas and a few other dishes. The fluently bilingual young man at the counter explained the situation and assured us we'd find the pizza delicious - and he was right! Half a 45cm pizza for €10 was more than enough for a couple of oldies, with the option of a whole pizza for €20 or a slice for €2.50. Reasonable drinks meant we dropped only €15.80 for a great feed. Great crusts of sourdough meant that unfortunately the gluten free among us would miss out. The ambiance was brutalist concrete, so kind of noisy, but the swarms of young people having a good time without a yobbo element was great. We're planning a second visit when we come back to San Sebastian in...

We came to the city for a few days and really wanted to try a good pizzeria. I chose this place because of the excellent reviews — everything looked so appetizing in the photos. We made a special trip here, we weren’t just passing by. Imagine my surprise when the menu offered only one pizza. And it was vegetarian. “Pizza of the day.” Seriously? How can this place call itself a pizzeria? Call it a snack bar or something else, but not a pizzeria. Don’t mislead people.

When I asked if they could at least add some ham to my pizza, they refused. In the end, I was hungry, didn’t feel like searching for another place, so I ordered it. The bill came to €38 for one pizza, one empanada and four soft drinks, for take away. The order was ready quickly — and that’s the only reason I’m giving two stars...

To shrug this place off as just another pizza place would be a gross understatement. The concept of the place,from what I got the few times I visited, is that there is one type of vegetarian pizza served per night; but this isn’t the usual poor vegetarian pizza you get from the supermarket. The chef carefully selects a mix of vegetables, usually with one main vegetable acting as a substitute for meat on the pizza (i.e. we saw delicious thick pepper slices acting as a substitute when we once visited). The dough itself is a carefully, and usually rather tediously crafted sourdough which, no joke, was the best pizza dough base I’ve ever eaten.

So altogether, whether you are a local or just happen to be passing through San Sebastián; you have got to go grab...